1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a processing apparatus provided in an apparatus for performing resist coating and developing processing for a substrate, specially a semiconductor wafer or a substrate for an LCD, for example, or the like, for properly performing heat processing for the substrate, a processing system, a distinguishing method, and a detecting method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In this kind of coating and developing system, generally, after being coated with a resist, a substrate is transferred to an aligner, and the exposed substrate is received from the aligner to undergo developing processing. Before or after the exposure, heat processing or cooling processing is performed for the substrate.
FIG. 23 is a schematic front view of a heat processing unit for performing heat processing for a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to only as xe2x80x9ca waferxe2x80x9d).
In FIG. 23, xe2x80x9c101xe2x80x9d denotes a hot plate for performing heat processing for a wafer W. A proximity pin 102 and proximity sheets 102xe2x80x2 both for holding the wafer W while lifting it off the hot plate 101 are disposed on the hot plate 101, and a plurality of guides 105 each having a slant face 104 toward a wafer mounting position 103 nearly at the center of the hot plate 101 are provided to surround the wafer mounting position 103.
In this unit, a rise-and-fall pin (not illustrated) for receiving and sending the wafer W from/to a transfer device for transferring the wafer W in the system is disposed to freely protrude from and retract into the front face of the hot plate 101. The rise-and-fall pin receives the wafer W from the transfer device while protruding from the front face of the hot plate 101, and thereafter descends and retracts into the front face of the hot plate 101. Thus, the wafer W is mounted on the front face of the hot plate 101.
At this time, unless the transfer device delivers the wafer W to the rise-and-fall pin at an accurate position, the wafer W can not be mounted at an accurate mounting position of the wafer mounting position 103. Therefore, the guides 105 are provided as described above, whereby the wafer W is guided to the accurate mounting position of the wafer mounting position 103 by means of the guides 105 even when the transfer device delivers the wafer W to the rise-and-fall pin at a position slightly deviated.
However, when a position at which the transfer device delivers the wafer W to the rise-and-fall pin is considerably deviated, the wafer W is stranded on the guide 105, whereby heat processing is not precisely performed, thus causing occurrence of product defects. The above occurrence of defects is usually detected in an inspection process as a post-process. The positional deviation in the transfer of the wafer W from the transfer device to the rise-and-fall pin often arises continuously instead of accidentally. As a result, when a defect is detected, a considerable number of defects already occur, thus causing huge damage.
The present invention is made to eliminate the above disadvantage, and an object of the present invention is to provide an art capable of quickly detecting a state in which a substrate transferred onto a processing plate is not accurately mounted at a substrate mounting position and holding defects in heat processing or cooling processing to a minimum.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an art capable of quickly detecting a position deviated from the substrate mounting position of the substrate transferred onto the processing plate and performing quick and accurate control.
To attain the above objects, a processing apparatus of the present invention is characterized by including a processing plate, on the front face of which a substrate is mounted, for heating or cooling the mounted substrate, a guide member for guiding the substrate, provided on the processing plate to surround a substrate mounting position on the processing plate, a temperature sensor disposed at a predetermined position on the processing plate, and means for judging that abnormality occurs when a temperature detected by the temperature sensor when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate does not change by not less than a predetermined range.
When the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is stranded on the guiding member and thereby deviated from the substrate mounting position, the substrate is lifted off the processing plate only because an edge of the substrate on the opposite side to a position at which the substrate is stranded on the guide member touches the front face of the processing plate. Meanwhile, in the processing plate for heating the substrate, for example, when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate, the processing plate is deprived of heat by the substrate, whereby the temperature of the processing plate once drops. When the substrate is lifted off the processing plate, a drop in temperature when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate decreases as compared with a case where the substrate is accurately mounted at the substrate mounting position. In the present invention, in view of this respect, when the temperature of the processing plate detected by the temperature sensor when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate does not change by not less than a predetermined range, it is judged that the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is not accurately mounted at the substrate mounting position, whereby a state in which the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is not accurately mounted at the substrate mounted position is quickly detected. Consequently, according to the present invention, defects in heat processing or cooling processing can be held to a minimum.
A processing apparatus of the present invention includes a processing plate, on the front face of which a substrate is mounted, for heating or cooling the mounted substrate, a guide member for guiding the substrate, provided on the processing plate to surround a substrate mounting position on the processing plate, a temperature sensor disposed at a position at a predetermined distance from the center of the substrate mounting position on the processing plate, and means for assuming a position deviated from the substrate mounting position of the substrate transferred onto the processing plate based on a temperature detected by the temperature sensor when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate.
When the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is stranded on the guiding member and thereby deviated from the substrate mounting position, the substrate is lifted off the processing plate only because the edge of the substrate on the opposite side to the position at which the substrate is stranded on the guide member touches the front face of the processing plate. Meanwhile, in the processing plate for heating the substrate, for example, when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate, the processing plate is deprived of heat by the substrate, whereby the temperature of the processing plate once drops. When the substrate is lifted off the processing plate, a drop in temperature when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate decreases as compared with the case where the substrate is accurately mounted at the substrate mounting position, and moreover such a drop in temperature differs depending on positions on the processing plate. For example, a position near the position at which the substrate is stranded on the guide member and a position on the opposite side to the above position (near the position at which the edge of the substrate on the opposite side to the position at which the substrate is stranded on the guide member touches the processing plate) are different in temperature drop when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate. Specifically, the space between the substrate and the processing plate in the vicinity of the position at which the substrate is stranded on the guide member is larger than the space between the substrate and the processing plate on the opposed side to the above position, whereby a drop in temperature when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate in the vicinity of the position at which the substrate is stranded on the guide member is smaller. In the present invention, in view of this respect, a position deviated from the substrate mounting position of the substrate transferred onto the processing plate can be quickly detected, and quick and accurate control can be performed by assuming the position deviated from the substrate mounting position of the substrate transferred onto the processing plate based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor at a predetermined position on the processing plate when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate.
A processing apparatus of the present invention includes a processing plate, on the front face of which the substrate is mounted, for heating or cooling the mounted substrate, a guide member for guiding the substrate, provided on the processing plate to surround a substrate mounting position on the processing plate, a plurality of temperature sensors respectively provided at separate positions on the processing plate, and means for assuming a position deviated from the substrate mounting position of the substrate transferred onto the processing plate based on difference in temperatures detected by the respective temperature sensors when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate.
In the present invention, a position deviated from the substrate mounting position of the substrate transferred onto the processing plate can be quickly detected, and quick and accurate control can be performed by assuming the position deviated from the substrate mounting position of the substrate transferred onto the processing plate based on difference in temperatures detected by the respective temperature sensors provided at separate positions on the processing plate when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate.
A processing system of the present invention includes a plurality of processing apparatus each including a processing plate, on the front face of which the substrate is mounted, for heating or cooling the mounted substrate, a guide member for guiding the substrate provided on the processing plate to surround a substrate mounting position on the processing plate, a temperature sensor disposed at a predetermined position on the processing plate, and means for judging that the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is not accurately mounted at the substrate mounting position when a temperature detected by the temperature sensor when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate does not change by not less than a predetermined range, a transfer device for transferring the substrate at least between the processing apparatus, and means for banning processing by one of the processing apparatus and allowing the remaining processing apparatus to perform the processing when it is judged that the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is not accurately mounted at the substrate mounting position in the one processing apparatus.
In the present invention, when it is judged that the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is not accurately mounted at the substrate mounting position in one processing apparatus, processing by the one processing apparatus is banned and the remaining processing apparatus are allowed to perform the processing, thereby making it possible to prevent the continuous occurrence of defects due to heat processing or cooling processing, and to continue ordinary processing without stopping the system even if such defects occur.
A processing system of the present invention includes a plurality of processing apparatus each including a processing plate, on the front face of which the substrate is mounted, for heating or cooling the mounted substrate, a guide member for guiding the substrate provided on the processing plate to surround a substrate mounting position on the processing plate, a temperature sensor disposed at a predetermined position on the processing plate, and means for judging that the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is not accurately mounted at the substrate mounting position when a temperature detected by the temperature sensor when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate does not change by not less than a predetermined range, a transfer device for transferring the substrate at least between the processing apparatus, and means for banning processing by one of the processing apparatus and allowing the remaining processing apparatus to perform the processing when it is continuously judged that the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is not accurately mounted at the substrate mounting position in the one processing apparatus.
In the present invention, when it is continuously judged that the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is not accurately mounted at the substrate mounting position in one processing apparatus, processing by the one processing apparatus is banned and the remaining processing apparatus are allowed to perform the processing, thereby making it possible to prevent the continuous occurrence of defects due to heat processing or cooling processing, and to continue ordinary processing without stopping the system even if such defects occur. Moreover, when the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is not accurately mounted at the substrate mounting position by accident, a ban on processing by the one processing is eliminated.
A processing system of the present invention includes a plurality of processing apparatus each including a processing plate, on the front face of which the substrate is mounted, for heating or cooling the mounted substrate, a guide member for guiding the substrate provided on the processing plate to surround a substrate mounting position on the processing plate, a temperature sensor disposed at a predetermined position on the processing plate, and means for judging that the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is not accurately mounted at the substrate mounting position when a temperature detected by the temperature sensor when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate does not change by not less than a predetermined range, a transfer device for transferring the substrate at least between said processing apparatus, and means for marking the substrate processed by one of the processing apparatus when it is judged that the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is not accurately mounted at the substrate mounting position in the one processing apparatus.
In the present invention, when it is judged that the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is not accurately mounted at the substrate mounting position in one processing apparatus, the substrate processed by the one processing apparatus is marked, which makes it possible to continue ordinary processing without stopping the system even if defects due to heat processing or cooling processing occur and moreover to easily distinguish defective substrates from normal substrates. It should be mentioned that xe2x80x9cmarkingxe2x80x9d if includes marking for the defective substrates so as to distinguish them from the normal substrates on software side in addition to actual and direct marking for the substrate.
The present invention is a distinguishing method of distinguishing whether or not a substrate transferred onto a processing plate is accurately mounted at a substrate mounting position in a processing apparatus including the processing plate, on the front face of which the substrate is mounted, for heating or cooling the mounted substrate, a guide member for guiding the substrate provided on the processing plate to surround the substrate mounting position on the processing plate, including the steps of detecting a temperature at a predetermined position on the processing plate, and judging that the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is not accurately mounted at the substrate mounting position when the detected temperature does not change by not less than a predetermined range.
The present invention is a method of detecting a position deviated from a substrate mounting position of a substrate transferred onto a processing plate in a processing apparatus including the processing plate, on the front face of which the substrate is mounted, for heating or cooling the mounted substrate, a guide member for guiding the substrate provided on the processing plate to surround the substrate mounting position on the processing plate, including the steps of detecting a temperature at a predetermined position on the processing plate, and assuming the position deviated from the substrate mounting position of the substrate transferred onto the processing plate based on the detected temperature.
The present invention is a method of detecting a position deviated from a substrate mounting position of a substrate transferred onto a processing plate in a processing apparatus including the processing plate, on the front face of which the substrate is mounted, for heating or cooling the mounted substrate, a guide member for guiding the substrate provided on the processing plate to surround the substrate mounting position on the processing plate, including the steps of detecting temperatures at a plurality of positions on the processing plate, and assuming the position deviated from the substrate mounting position of the substrate transferred onto the processing plate based on difference in the temperatures detected at the plurality of positions.